A lot of athletes prepare for activity by carbo-loading, but new research out of Ohio State University suggests people can burn more fat by opting for a low-carb diet.
For their study, researchers compared the amount of fat-burning between two groups of ultra marathon runners and ironman athletes. Half of the athletes practiced a ketogenic diet, where carbohydrate intake is extremely restricted, while the other half practiced carbo-loading in an effort to store extra energy. The athletes were asked to run certain distances on a treadmill over the course of two days, and the researchers tracked maximum oxygen consumption and peak fat-burning rates.
After comparing the fat-burning data, researchers said athletes in the low-carb group burned twice as much fat as the high carbohydrate group. The low-carb group had an 88-percent fat burning rate, while the high-carb group came in at 56 percent. Researchers believe the findings provide more evidence for “going against the grain.”
“The goal was to characterize their metabolic response to a standardized exercise test,” said lead researcher Dr. Jeff Volek, a professor human sciences at Ohio State University. “This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to peek under the hood at what a long-term low-carb, fat-adapted athlete looks like.”
Low-Carb Benefits
Volek said the research shows that the body can burn a good deal of fat so long as carbohydrates don’t get in the way. The presence of carbohydrates inhibits fat burning, but lowering your carbohydrate intake forces the body to access fat storage for energy. Volek concluded by saying we may need to start ditching the team spaghetti dinners or the high-carb meals the night before athletic events.
“This represents a real paradigm shift in sports nutrition, and I don’t use that term lightly,” said Volek. “Maybe we’ve got it all backwards and we need to re-examine everything we’ve been telling athletes for the last 40 years about loading up on carbs. Clearly, it’s not as straightforward as we used to think.”
